Imprisoned
by IcyFire93
Summary: Naruto is sent to Alcatraz for a sentence of 3 months and meets his dark and silent cellmate, Sasuke. NaruSasu, yaoi
1. Week 1 Monday

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. And this story is based on the life of a prisoner (but twisted in such a way that I can not describe) in Alcatraz. I actually went there and taken a tour there, but my bad memory has erased many of the details. There will actually be some series of events that are based on actual events that happened during the time when Alkatraz was a jail…. Just so you know.

XIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

- Imprisoned -

Week 1

XixMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

Prologue: He watched them march down the dimly lit corridors, two by two, then turn and march back up again. They never even bothered to come down this way, to check if the most unruly of all the unruly criminals that were locked up in this insane prison was still there, sitting in the corner of his small, dark cell where little light never shined upon. He was still there, of course, not that he even bothered to run away, and the guards knew that; they knew that as well as they knew their own names. The story of his life, which once began with a nice, loving home turned to one of horror and sadness, was not even one worth listening, so why should one care? There was no hope in which he could prey upon. He had to face it. He was a prisoner here forever. There was no point in life, until he met Naruto.

-xMONDAYx-

"Alcatraz, huh?," the policeman snorted as he pulled Naruto along by the handcuffs onto the ferry that would be taking them to the prison island. "You know, you're one lucky fella to only hafta stay there for three months. Most of 'em prisoners are locked up in there for at least five years or more. Then, there are the great lot of 'em who have life sentences. Then again, many of 'em are mad hoodlums from what I've heard." The policeman chuckled as if this was all one very funny joke.

"Well, Mister, I don't really see anything so funny about this whole prison-on-the-island business," Naruto commented.

"Of course you wouldn't!" the policeman cried gleefully, "The whole poin of this prison is so gruesome prisoners like you don't go escaping back into the city. Heard you was escaping that city jail three times in a row and they had a mighty hard time tryin' to catch you."

"Well, gee, it wasn't my fault," Naruto replied sarcastically. "I don't even see why it's such a big deal. It's not like I'm a mass murderer or anything."

"Yeah? Then how come you got yourself landed here? This isn't some prison for the little criminals like you. It's for the big folks out there. Heard you escaped from jail three times," the policeman repeated, "Well, didn'tcha?"

"Yeah, but that's all I ever did," Naruto remarked crossly, "What did you expect? Some very dangerous burglar that's been stealing from all the big banks?"

"Yea.. Kinda," the policeman admitted, "It would have made a nice story in the papers, ya know, how I single-handedly captured a nation-wide crim. Might have even gotten a promotion, ya know? I gotta whole family to feed."

"Oh," Naruto felt a ping of sympathy, but it was, as said, a ping and nothing more, "A family, eh? You'd think that because a person has a family they'd have more merits."

He glared at the officer, who just shrugged, "Just doing my job." After a minute of awkward silence, the officer began talking again as if he couldn't stand the silence growing every minute, a smiliar trait to Naruto's, "So, how'd a fella like you end up in some place like Alkatraz?"

Naruto sighed, "This whole thing is so stupid. It all started with an unpaid speeding ticket."

"You mean you're here because of a speeding ticket!"

"Well, sorta. They said since I didn't pay it they would hafta put me in jail for like ten days or some. I don't remember all too well. Don't want to I suppose. But anyways, my best friend, this girl called Sakura, she's like my family, you know? I don't really have any family, but she's like my mother and sister and, well, friend all rolled up into one, but she throws an awful temper when she's mad. Well anyways, she met this perfect guy, and she was going to marry him, and I'm was gonna be the best man, _and_ I've known this for months now, so they were all expecting me to show up perfectly groomed and all, and I'm fine with that. But how was I supposed to know that I was gonna be locked up in jail? And I know how much me going to the wedding meant to Sakura. I can't let down a friend like that, can I? She's like my _only_ family."

"Well, no I suppose you can't," the policeman agreed. "But perhaps you coulda tried some legal ways, I'm sure – "

"I did. I explained this whole scenario to the officer guarding me, but man, was he stubborn, he believed I was plotting something disastrous or something else rotten like that."

"And I'm sure the two other escapades had excuses jus' like that."

"Maybe not 'jus'like that,' but pretty darn close," Naruto sighed, "Families, they just about mean everything to you."

"Yeah," there was another silence, but this one was much more amiable than the one before, and the two were able to bond with each other and forgot their difference, perhaps not enough to make a difference, but a bond nonetheless, "But you know, I hear some people ain't liking their folks an' family as much as they should."

"Those people are fools. They don't know what its like to be without one," Naruto replied solemnly as the memory of his own miserable childhood came upon him.

"Yea, ever heard of Uchiha Sasuke? Been in jail for over two years now."

"Then he's a pretty old crim, huh?"

"Nah, pretty young. He killed every single member of his clan. He'd be dead by now if not for the new laws overruling capital punishment. Got life sentence instead."

"That bastard," Naruto muttered under his breath. "Sometimes I don't understand people at all. You know, I'm really glad I met you and all."

"Yeah, guess not all criminals are bastards," the officer gave him a toothy grin.

Together, they watched the island grow closer and closer and the large prison built on top of it. Naruto dared not to look back at the growing ever-smaller San Francisco Bay. That was the past. He would only look forward to the future.

The ferry slowly chugged towards the dock, which caused Naruto to remember something – he might never see this officer that he had befriended again.

"Sir," he started, "I know this might sound a little strange, but what's your name?"

"My name? It would be better for you not to know. We'll probably never see each other again and by acquainting ourselves, it would just…" the policeman sighed, "You know, hearing some of your story makes me see light in a whole new angle and if I could, I would really like to let you go, but you know I can't, but I will pray that you will have a successful time here, if that is even possible, but I have never stepped foot here, so I wouldn't know, but the stories that reached the bay are just dreadful. Well, in short, I wish you good luck."

"Same to you." They would have shook hands if not for the cuffs around Naruto's wrists.

Another officer approached them. The two officer gave a quick nod as their way of greeting, and he led Naruto back to ground. Naruto looked back at the other officer and saw him staring straight back with an encouraging nod. If this was in some other different circumstances, they might have waved goodbye or even saluted, but one was a convict and the other one wasn't, and that made all the difference.

However, looking back at this memory years later, Naruto would be thankful to have spent some time with the policeman even if it was only ten minutes.

XimprisonedX

Night came. It seemed regardless of whom you were and when you came, after a quick tour of the island, you were immediately put to work and that was what happened to Naruto. He had worked the whole day doing things like carrying balk to build houses and things of that sort. They still hadn't decided where to put Naruto as many of the cells were filled – many, but not all of them. The living conditions weren't too bad. Every cell had a toilet and two mattresses on a metal cage against the wall. Each cell was about the size of a large bathroom Naruto noted as he entered the building.

Two bulky officers came and escorted Naruto to the actual jailhouse and marched up the rows as convicts from the left and the right pressed their faces to the bars to see who it was. Some of the more daring people made kissy faces at him and puckered their lips out at him, which caused Naruto to shiver unconsciously. More and more faces were coming out. They were mostly made up of middle-aged men who had more years to spend then they could afford, but they were creepy nonetheless.

Naruto wanted to close his eyes and wish all this disaster could disappear up in smoke, but instead, he sped up and the two soldiers who flanked him quickly followed suit.

"Hey, sir," he addressed the officer to the right, "Do you mind putting me in a cell where… Well… I don't want to be touched. I'm only gonna stay here for three months, so…"

"We get the point," the officer replied gruffly, "Are you scared of the dark?"

"Huh?"

The other soldier pointed at the other end of the row of cells. "It doesn't really have a good view like some cells do and the sun don't shine on it much, but the man who lives there ain't gonna want to fool with you. Ain't gonna. Pretty calm fellow, alright, despite all the stuff he's been accused of."

"Yea, I'll take it then."

"Good choice," muttered the officer who had spoken first. They led him down the corridor and he took out some keys and opened the gate. Naruto inhaled deeply, preparing himself for whatever surprises that he would have to face, but he relaxed when he saw a man, probably in his late teens just like him. He had black hair that parted around his face and fell to his chin in a graceful manner and his face was a pale white. His eyes were darker than his hair and they were near impregnable. However, there was a soft, gentle look to his features, which brought out his personality. His was quite a handsome fellow without a doubt and Naruto wondered if he had a girlfriend waiting for him, something, like many other things, Naruto didn't have. His face was inscrutable when Naruto entered, but Naruto felt un overwhelming wave of compassion wash over him. His presence, that there was someone who was like Naruto in a way, was comforting and Naruto welcomed it until…

"This is Uchiha Sasuke, been here for about two years now. Maybe. He's a good boy, though, won't do no harm. Never even tried to cross that line. A real nice fellow, polite and everything. Won't do no harm," the officer repeated as if trying to comfort any fear that Naruto might be feeling at this point. They left after closing and locking the door behind them leaving the two.

Naruto studied the boy for a bit, but it grew incredibly boring after a while because all he ever did was sit and stare at the wall opposing him. It was a little disappointing after a bit because once Naruto found out that this was the famous Uchiha Sasuke who killed his whole clan, he had expected quite a bit more action or at least movement from him.

"Well, hello. I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he started warmly, when this provoked no response, he continued, "I'm gonna be staying here for the next three months."

"Then there's no reason for us to be acquainting," he uttered harshly.

Naruto was speechless for a minute, but his loud self came back after the first shock, "Well, three months is certainly gonna be a long time."

"No, three months is nothing compared to people who have to spend their whole life here."

They were quiet once more as Sasuke, once again, sank back into his thoughts. After five minutes, however, Naruto began to feel bored and started fidgeting, "What are you supposed to do round here?"

"Nothing."

"You mean you just sit here and do nothing all day?"

"No, I have to do some work, too."

"But what do you do when you have free time? I heard they have a library and everything if you behave yourself."

"That's pointless. I don't see any reason to do something like that when I'm never gonna get out of here anyway."

It seemed like Sasuke had a way of making awkward sentences that spoiled any way of a start of a decent conversation.

"So you just sit there and do nothing?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"That's impossible! Surely you don't do nothing."

Sasuke hesitated before replying, "Well, I do keep a book where I put down all my thoughts."

"Oh." It was a while before Naruto spoke again, "Does it get cold at night?"

"I suppose, but I'm used to it."

"At home, I usually have the heater on real high and sleep with lots of blankets. How about you?"

"This is my home now."

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"What?" Sasuke, who was now lying on his mattress had his eyes closed.

"Does it get real dark at night? I mean, it's pretty dark already, but the lights are on."

"I suppose, but I'm used to it."

"Sasuke, I don't like the dark."

"Well, that's your problem."

"But Sasuke? I really, really don't like the dark. At home, I used to sleep with a light on."

"You'll get used to it."

There was something about this Sasuke guy that made Naruto forget all his doubts about his personality. Something calming about him. He couldn't believe that this guy would obliterate his whole family. They lay there, both on their own mattress, just two to three feet away from each other, but for once Naruto didn't feel lonely. This person like him, didn't have a family.

"LIGHTS OUT!" A voice roared and in a second, Naruto was surrounded by darkness.

"Hey Sasuke?" Naruto whispered after several minutes passed. There was no reply. "I'm afraid of the dark." There was still no reply. "Sasuke?"

"What? I'm tired. Go to sleep," he muttered.

"Sasuke, I'm… I don't like to sleep in the dark…. And I'm cold."

Sasuke made no reply.

"Sasuke… Can you.. sing me to sleep?'

"No."

"Sasuke –"

"Go to sleep, Naruto."

Naruto smiled sleepily, "Hey, you said my name."

Nothing.

"Sasuke?"

Nothing.

"Sasuke!"

Nothing.

"SASUKE!!" Naruto whispered more violently.

There was still no reply, so Naruto cautiously climbed out of his metal mattress and felt his way to Sasuke. He knelt beside the mattress and listened real carefully to Sasuke's steady breathing until he was sure that Sasuke was asleep. Naruto sighed. He was all alone again. He had hoped that maybe now that he had a roommate, he wouldn't be so alone as he used to be.

Even though the bed could barely fit a large-bodied man, Naruto managed to squeeze himself in with Sasuke and by pressing himself against the other, managed not to fall off the bed. Breathing contently, he fell asleep to Sasuke's warmth and the soothing sound of his breathing.

It wasn't long until Sasuke woke up to find another body pressed against the whole of his. "What the!" he muttered. This person, Naruto was his name Sasuke remembered, whom he had only met today, had been so straightforward. Without hiding anything, he had spoken his feelings, his fears. That was something Sasuke could never do. Tell his weaknesses to someone he had just met.

He normally would have immediately kicked Naruto off the bed, but there was something strange about this situation. He didn't feel lonely anymore. He felt free of… of everything. It was like he had no more obligations. There was nothing he needed to hide anymore. And the gentle breathing, the comforting warmth was an extra bonus. In addition to all of this, there was no point of spending a whole night worrying over this. Naruto would probably annoy him all night if he was kicked out of the bed and that would do no good. No, it would be better if they both could have a peaceful night.

And Sasuke was right.


	2. Week 2 Tuesday

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx 

- Imprisoned -

Week 2

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx 

-xTuesdayx-

It had been a week now. A week since Naruto had starting living in Alcatraz. Every day was almost a replica of the day before with just a trivial difference. However, Sasuke was already feeling the heat of the difference Naruto was making in his life. His nights were no longer slept alone, nor cold and unhappy. Sasuke didn't talk very much seeing as he had a way of ending conversations as explained earlier. Nonetheless, Naruto loved to talk to Sasuke and inform him everything that had been going on in his life up to now, and Sasuke, although he wouldn't admit, listened to every single word that was uttered from Naruto's precious mouth unless he had fallen asleep.

They made quite a pair and were often talked about during times when the prisoners were outside taking a walk and stretching their legs or during breakfast, or lunch, or dinner. It was such an odd pair, really, Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto was such a happy person who carried a glow of light that surround him wherever he went unlike Sasuke, who was not the happiest person around, but had more looks than all of the prisoners combined. Most of the more horny and abusive inmates had already given up on trying to get Naruto by himself as Naruto followed Sasuke wherever he went, whenever he went, and Sasuke was not about to let anyone hurt Naruto. It was well known that Sasuke was a dangerous fellow to cross; his skills were not to be under-estimated, as any prisoner can tell you. Sasuke only had to show how tough he was once for it to sink the thought into all of the thickheaded prisoners.

The young man, who thought he was such a hot shot and all, decided to bully Sasuke just for the fun of it. He started by insulting Sasuke's looks, but when that didn't do anything, he started insulting his family. First his mother, then his father. "A pair of fucked up bitches, I'll bet. And I'll bet they couldn't do anything right. That's how they had you," and that was just a small sample of it. Of course, we all know that Sasuke loves his family very much and he is has as much dignity as any one of us does. So in the end, the young man was carried away on a stretcher with a cracked skull while Sasuke walked away with a cracked knuckle. When the guards came and inquired what had happened, the onlookers all simply said that the stupid man tripped and fell on his head. No one wanted to see what would happen if they told the truth.

While the inmates were all gossiping about what was going on as they didn't have anything else to do, Sasuke had studied Naruto's habits and learned quite a lot from him. In fact, he had probably learned as much about Naruto as a mother can learn about her child in their life. That was mostly because Naruto had spilled his entire life to him like a slideshow and all his thoughts on whatever subject that seemed to come into his mind. This ranged from how Naruto took an average of twenty-nine minutes and thirty-three seconds to shower and that he couldn't eat a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich unless u put twice the amount of jelly on as the peanut butter. Sasuke didn't mind all this talking. In fact, one could say he enjoyed it.

Another thing that Sasuke noticed was every night, Naruto never went to Sasuke's bed right away. In fact he never talked about how they slept together and always acted as if nothing happened between the two of them that was out of the ordinary. It was quite contrary to Naruto's usual chatty behavior.

When Sasuke woke up, Naruto was always on his own bed reading a book or doing some other random act of innocence. However, Sasuke was absolutely sure that Naruto crept into his bed at night. He had even stayed up late just to make sure of this fact.

For the past week, once the lights were all turned off, Naruto would lie on his bed for a few minutes (Sasuke didn't know exactly how long) and then, as if he was listening for signs of breathing, Naruto would quickly crawl to the other side of the room and sit there waiting. After a few more minutes, Naruto would slowly climb into Sasuke's bed, as if not to wake Sasuke up whom, most of the time, was already awake. There Naruto would lay, without moving more than an inch at a time.

It was strange, Sasuke would not deny that, but he didn't bother asking Naruto about this queer behavior of his. Besides, in Naruto's mind, Sasuke had no idea what went on during the night, and Sasuke was content with it staying like that.

However, the next major event happened that Tuesday, late at night when things usually happen. Sasuke was sitting there on the edge of his bed staring at the air vent, which lay next to the toilet. He was only doing this because there wasn't much of a choice. It was this or stare at the white, blotchy wall, and as we all know, staring at air vents are more interesting because you can count the screws and metal strips there are on it. It also shows that your living conditions aren't as bad as one might think when they look at the blotchy wall. Naruto, on the other hand, who is not so great at staring at walls and vents, was staring at Sasuke with a hungry look in his eyes. Of course, Sasuke, who was too busy staring at the air vent, did not notice this.

It wasn't ten minutes of this tiresome exercise when Naruto declared, "Sasuke, did you know I am a champion massager?"

"I didn't know there was such a thing."

"Yeah, well I am."

"Good for you then."

They were quiet for some time, but it was clear that Naruto had not gotten the point he had wanted to convey across. "Sasuke?…. Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Don't you want to do anything about it?" 

"What are you talking about?"

Naruto was silent for a moment for he definitely did not want to seem too direct, so he turned to face the wall opposite of Sasuke and pouted. This seem to take great effect on Sasuke for he noticed this act almost immediately and being the kind person he was, tried to figure out why Naruto was upset. It wasn't hard to put two and two together and Sasuke immediately came up with the answer. Naruto was bored. Naruto was very bored. Naruto would do anything to be freed from boredom. And of course, Naruto was a "champion massager," which seemed like such a random fact for someone like him to say, but really wasn't.

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fine."

Naruto half-turned back to face Sasuke, but then decided against it and turned back to face the wall. Although, it was hard to conceal the grin creeping up his face, he replied in an angry, unhappy tone, "Fine what?"

"You can do it."

"Do what?"

Sasuke sighed again for he didn't want him to be the one saying it as weird and uncomfortable for him. "Nevermind."

Naruto, seeing that he was quickly losing this battle quickly returned to his normal happy self, "NO-NO-NOO! I'll do it!" He quickly went from his side of the room onto Sasuke's bed and planted himself behind Sasuke's back.

Sasuke frowned instinctively, but didn't say anything rude like he usually did.

"Let's see what the master can do to this poor, unhappy soul," Naruto cried gleefully.

"I'm not poor nor unhappy," Sasuke replied, but this sentence was only half-true.

"You soon won't be," corrected Naruto who in minutes was working his hands up and down Sasuke's back. A squeeze there, a rub there, a little pat there. Not more than three minutes had gone by when Naruto declared that it was very troublesome to massage someone with a shirt on and that professionals rarely did that. He was soon tugging on Sasuke's shirt before lifting it up and tossed it – tossed it right into the toilet.

"Naruto!" Sasuke stood up, aghast.

"Don't worry, we'll just take it out and dry it."

"But there's PEE in there!" Sasuke replied disgustedly.

"So?"

Sasuke stared at Naruto with his mouth open.

"Sit down, sit down," Naruto just replied impatiently, "If it bothers you that much, I'll wear it."

Sasuke closed his mouth and sat down. Naruto, trying to contain his excitement, but failing miserable, gently touched Sasuke's bare back before finally putting both hands onto Sasuke's soft shoulders. Soon he was at full pace again. Sasuke's eyes closed and his breathing slowed, signs of his relaxation. Naruto smiled again before working his hands onto Sasuke's spine causing Sasuke to let out an inevitable groan. It caused the prisoners across the corridor to press their faces through the bars and try to see what was going on in Naruto's and Sasuke's cell. Sasuke popped his eyes open, now aware of the people who were trying to see if anything amusing was happening. He brushed Naruto off who had been enjoying himself.

"Sasuke! I finally found something entertaining to do. Besides, your back is too hard," Naruto made a face, "You gotta relax a bit."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but forcefully pushed Naruto off his bed and laid down. "I'm not wearing that shirt you just threw in the toilet, Naruto, so you better do something about it… fast."

Naruto, in response, pouted, but took the soiled shirt out of the toilet and cleansed it as well as he could in the sink before spreading it across the foot of his bed. Then he hopped over to Sasuke who was now sitting on his bed again and plopped down besides him. Sasuke ignored him as was expected.

"Sasuke-Sasuke-Sasuke-Sasuke!" Naruto whined, as he pushed himself against Sasuke like a cat showing affection to their owners by rubbing themselves on their owner's legs.

Sasuke gently pushed Naruto away from him a centimeter, "Stop that; it's quite disturbing."

This just encouraged Naruto even more, "Sasuke, tell me a story!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Why yes?"

Naruto frowned and began his act of pulling and prodding Sasuke's arm again. Annoyed, Sasuke yanked his arm from Naruto as one would do to a toy from a child. "What's up with you today?"

"I realized something today. I'm only staying for three months which means that I won't be able to see you after that and so I'm going to give you the best three months you have ever had!"

"That doesn't make any sense. If so, then shouldn't you be the one telling me stories and such?"

"I did! I did that the whole week and you just sat there and listened! It feels so weird. You never talk. I want to hear something about you!"

"I don't have anything to talk about."

"You must have something to talk about," Naruto protested.

Sasuke stared sadly at his hands, which were folded on his lap. He tried to think of something to tell, but he didn't want to remember the past. Or maybe he did, but he didn't know it. His throat burned as remembered the bloody scenes from that night. It had been a night stolen from hell.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered and weakened his grip on Sasuke's arm… but only for a moment before he turned and gave Sasuke a warm hug. It was a sweet moment they both shared and would always remember – their first hug. Sasuke could feel a few tears that he had tried to keep locked up with his memories leak out. Before he could wipe them away, Naruto tilted his head and licked them from his face. This was the last straw for Sasuke. The faucet in his brain turned on and salty water poured from his eyes.

"Sasuke-Sasuke… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I…. Don't cry!" but he needn't say anything more. Sasuke returned Naruto's hug, gratified that there was someone to comfort him and not laugh at his weaknesses. Naruto patted him softly on the head and hugged him tighter, "Sasuke, don't cry…" Sasuke just pressed himself harder onto Naruto's chest. He wanted to protect himself – protect himself from all the evil things that had jumped on him and caused his life to turn into a life of melancholy.

"My life – I don't think it's any more enjoyable than yours…. It's unbearable… to lose everyone you love in a single moment and then to know that it was someone you thought you knew who did it. I was… so lonely, Naruto."

Naruto just nodded and did his best to keep his tears from coming out of his face.

"Sasuke… it's okay.. It's okay," Naruto choked out. "Sasuke…" It was another brief moment, a moment where they completely understood what the other person and were able to give it.

-xTuesdayx-

Don't forget to review!


	3. Week 3 Wednesday

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

A/N: I want to thank you for all the reviews you gave me! I've never gotten so many reviews for one chapter before! THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH! You don't know how much I appreciate each and everyone of you.

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

- Imprisoned -

Week 3

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

-xWednesdayx-

It had been an entire week since Naruto and Sasuke had cuddled, as Naruto liked to think of it. The memory still lingered, and if Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated for a bit, he could summon the memory up and relive it again, which was what he was currently doing right then on the gray, cloudy Wednesday. It was really such a drab day, the middle of the week. The week hadn't just begun, but it wasn't over. That was what Wednesday meant to Naruto, and this particularly Wednesday was even more boring than most other Wednesdays because of the looming clouds sulking above. Naruto hated gray days like these, and when they landed on Wednesdays, it changed the mood for the worst.

Today would be even a more dreary day than most. It was the day that Naruto would be introduced to a sadistic side of Alcatraz. A guard unlocked the cellar door and beckoned the two to step outside.

"The tournament's 'bout to start," he chuckled ruthlessly, "You're probably gonna be innit again, Uchiha. Most definitely."

"What tournament?" Naruto asked bewildered, "You guys hold _tournaments_ here?"

"Yeah, but you don't got to worry none. After all, you'll only be staying here for jus' two months and some now. Only the hot-headed ones," the guard shot a look at Sasuke, "who earned themselves the life sentence are entered."

This didn't sound too pleasant. "Meaning…?"

The guard looked at Sasuke to see if he was going to say anything. Sasuke wasn't. His head was turned to the ground and his face was impassive. "Well, see here, this prison isn't nearly big enough to keep all the prisoners in California. I'll be hating to tell you this, but, see now, the government won't be giving the money we need to build a bigger prison and they keep pushing more and more prisoners at us, and we didn't have no room for them. So the boss decided to do things his way."

Naruto was beginning to get the jest of this whole idea, but he kept his mouth shut.

"He said that since all the prisoners with life-sentence were going to die here anyway, why not jus' make that time they are gonna be here a little shorter. Whose it gonna affect anyway?"

Naruto could barely contain the disgust that was coming out his throat, so he clamped his mouth shut.

"It's a tournament of life and death, see? Each prisoner gets one weapon and they're paired up with another prisoner and put into a arena where they fight for life or death."

"But that's horrible!" Naruto exclaimed, all the disgust finally escaping his stomach."

"We aren't that cruel. We only kill the amount if prisoners that are coming in and then one."

"That's still muder."

"An' that's life," the guard stated. He turned to Sasuke, "You'll be coming with me. You're second up."

"How many matches are there gonna be in all?"

"Five, there are four new prisoners coming in and no space left for them to live and we need one extra cell in case some one else comes in this week. Oh yeah, and if you want to watch them, there are bleachers to the door at the right if you want a better view."

"A better view?" Naruto croaked, "Why would anyone want to see people fight for their lives?"

"It's entertainment, one of the only kind you get here unless you can read decently."

Naruto was silent as he watched the tall, muscular figure of Sasuke, and the short, but bulky figure of the guard walk off. It wasn't until they were well out of his reach when he bellowed, "WAIT!"

"What?" It was obvious that the guard's patience was wearing thin.

"Can I come?"

"Come where?"

"I want to go to the place where you keep the… um…. contestants."

"You wanna accompany Uchiha?" the guard guessed.

"Um… well.. just to…"

"Fine, then. Come'on. If we stand here talking all day, we aren't going to get anything done. Then the boss'll get mad." Naruto hurried along to catch up with them. He glanced at Sasuke's face to see how he was reacting. He face was still as unexpressive as ever, but when he saw Naruto's head tilted up to meet his, the corner's of his mouth rose as if he was trying to show something. It definitely wasn't happiness or any other signs of gratefulness either.

"You'll be in this cell here. Don't do anything funny. We'll be watching you," the guard chuckles, "Literally, but I know I don't have to worry. After all, Uchiha, this isn't your first time, is it?" He opened a gate and waited for them to walk into the small cell furnished with only a steel bench before closing and locking it. Technically, there was no back or front to this room as the opposite ends of the walls were iron bars allowing spectators (which mainly consisted of many of the prisoners themselves and many guards) to see what was going on inside the small cells. The prisoners could also see directly into the arena as the arena was just one large pit with cells lined around it.

"I don't understand, Sasuke. Why do they have these people pit themselves against one another? If you survive, you can then be charged for murdered and sentenced with the death penalty, _or _you can just die early. There really isn't difference."

"Just as there is no difference between having a life sentence and dying in jail fifty years later than dying in this tournament now."

"This whole business is so revolting." They were silent as they listened to the crowd outside yelling and making comments on who was going to win. It wasn't hard to pick out the yells of "50$ for Sasuke! I'm willing to bet 50$ on Sasuke," and "NONO! I'll put out 500$ for Sasuke. He's definitely my man." And then Naruto remembered the guard's remark earlier, _After all, Uchiha, this isn't your first time is it?_

"Hey, um.. Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"The guard mentioned earlier that… well, this isn't your first time being a competitor."

"So?"

"Then how many times have you competed?"

"I lost count at 14."

Naruto was speechless, "So you… you're saying that you went up against more than 14 different opponents and you… killed them all?"

"No."

"But Sa-"

"When I was younger, my father taught me many defensive and offensive techniques, and one of them included a lesson on hitting vital points."

"Vital.. points," Naruto repeated, he whistled softly. "I thought you had killed all those people. Thank the heavens you didn't 'cause otherwise, I wouldn't have –"

"Naruto, listen to me!"

"The tournament will now begin! Our first competitors, number 2394 and number 1093!" A large voice boomed into the arena. Two gates opened and the men inside staggered out. Naruto watched with horror as they raised their weapons and began to stare at each other with somber eyes.

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the gruesome battle, "Hitting the vital points of a person will knock them out, but they will awake just hours later. The guards cannot bury a live person so this person who has been knocked out has to be stuffed into the extra cell. It was only a matter of time before they figured out who it was."

The yelling and cheering of the crowd drew their attention back to the bloody fight of the two contenders. The shorter man with the sword currently had the advantage as he dodged in and out of the two daggers the tall man was holding. Both men had huge droplets of sweat rolling down their faces, and their shirts looked wet to the touch. The taller man, 1093, had a large gash across his leg. Blood was running down the wound and it looked as if it would cause him to run no more. The shorter man only had a small slit on his cheek, but otherwise was in pretty good shape.

"Anyway, the point is, they're going to make me kill him this time. They even brought one of the doctors to check his pulse, and until he dies, they're not letting me out of the arena."

"Then just don't fight!" Naruto argued, "Sit there until he returns to consciousness, then knock him out again."

"I don't think you understand."

"This isn't legal is it? This tournament?"

"I don't think so."

"Then why can they hold it? They're bound to get caught?"

"What's the point? No one cares about the prisoners here."

"That's not true!"

"Before you came here, I bet if someone told you that the prisoners were killing each other, you wouldn't give two pennies to help them."

"I…" Naruto realized that he wouldn't have.

"OH! And there goes 1093. Looks like he's collapsed from the pain in his left leg. Looks like 2394 is going in for the kill!" the man announced, his voice full of anticipation for what happened next.

"AGH! I can't watch!" Naruto turned his head to face the wall, but it didn't block out the horrible scream from 1093. "This is the most sickening thing I have ever known."

"Then, you'll probably hate me by the end of the day, too."

There was another silence as Sasuke watched the scene in front of them unfold. There was a loud yell and that was it, the end of 1093's life.

"Well, what a match! Next up, we have the famous Uchiha versus 4931. This will be 4931's first time competing, but I am sure this will be a well-fought out match. After all, 4931 used to be a famous gang leader up in Chicago before he escaped to the crowded city of San Francisco."

"Hey Sasuke, why don't you have a number?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? Why do they need to call me a number when everyone already knows who I am. It's only the people who no one knows do they use their numbers. That way the spectators can tell who is who when the commentator is making comments. If they used names, the people might not be able to remember which name belongs to which person and when they fight, everyone will become more confused. Uchiha _is_ my number," Sasuke sighed as the gate lifted, "Stay here."

"Contestants, please come forward… WAIT! It looks Uchiha has brought another man along side with him. What is happening? The judge is walking into the arena to talk to him." The crowd quieted down to try and hear what Sasuke was saying.

"Oh, Naruto back there? He just wanted to experience everything," Sasuke said calmly. "He's leaving in just a ten weeks."

"Excuse me?"

"There are people expecting him back at home, and I'm sure they wouldn't be too happy if he died here."

"Ex-ex..excuse me?" the balding man stuttered.

Sasuke leaned closer and grabbed the man by his collar and whispered, "You heard me, now get going. You don't want any trouble do you?"

"I'm.. not.. af-af-afraid of you!" he cried, but nevertheless, he turned to Naruto and gritted his teeth, "Come with me, you'll be watching from the stands."

Naruto glanced back at Sasuke as he questioned what was happening with his eyes.

Sasuke just turned away.

"Come on, hurry up!" the judged snapped impatiently.

"Wait a sec," Naruto ran back to Sasuke and whispered in his ear, "Sasuke, no matter what you do, I'll still like you."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh," Naruto's mouth began to form the word "nothing," but instead, "Sasuke, take care of yourself and don't get hurt. Otherwise I really will be mad at you."

Sasuke laughed in a nonchalant way, "Baka, do you think I would really care if you were mad at me?" But despite these words of ignorance, Sasuke kept his soft, gentle smile on those seductive lips until Naruto left the arena.

"Just go find some place to sit down unless you want to return to your cell. If you choose the latter, I will have to accompany you," the judge said monotonously after he had escorted Naruto up the bleachers.

"I'll stay," Naruto whispered, his heart was beating rapidly for Sasuke's safety. He looked around the bleachers and found what seemed to be a nice-looking man. He made his way to him and plopped down besides him.

"Hey!" he smiled cheerfully, the way he normally greeted new people.

The man nodded.

"I'm Naruto! Who are you?"

"What a blunt way to introduce yourself. I'm Shikamaru."

"Oh! Nice to meet you," and then after a while, "You don't seem to be enjoying yourself very much."

"Well, duh. Who likes to watch people kill each other? I'm only here 'cause at least there is something I can learn here than staring at the wall in my room."

"I suppose," Naruto looked out into the arena as he watched Sasuke and 4931 face off.

"Hey, you should be happy or at least relieved that you're up here and not down there. Looked like the judge wanted to send you in and have all three of you fight each other."

"You're not serious!"

"These guys are looking for any form of entertainment they can get without spending any money, and what could be more entertaining than having roommates killing each other? I guess they had to settle with this though."

Naruto was speechless once again. This whole thing was so wrong. It was like Ancient Rome all over again.

"But it looks like your buddy down there managed to change his mind. What did he say?"

"Oh, he just said something like that my friends will be expecting me in ten weeks."

"That's it? But normally the judge would have been like 'Who cares?' He must have said something else," Shikamaru was staring at Naruto with a frown on his face, "What could he have said?"

"That was about it!"

"There must have been something else you missed," but Naruto shook his head, "Oh well, it was worth a shot," Shikamaru muttered to himself. "You know, you're really lucky you have him as a friend."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't pretend you don't know," Shikamaru sighed, "Although he is a prisoner, he is a great influence to all who are around him. He is stronger than anyone here, the guards are afraid of him as many weaker men have rebelled a long time ago. Even though everyone acts like they don't like him and give him looks whenever he walks by, most secretly admire him and wish they could be more like him. It's a funny world."

"And the fighting finally begins with 4931 making the first move. Oh! What a narrow miss!" After they had been standing across from each other for what seemed like forever, 4931 had ran forward and slashed his two daggers in the place where Sasuke had just been. Sasuke, sensing the attack had leapt to the side and ran away from 4931 keeping a fair distance between them.

"There are many prisoners who respect him here, but just as many who scoff at him and call him a sissy," Shimaru commented. He had sat up to watch the fight begin.

"Looks like none of them want to get this battle started, so I guess we'll have to help them," the commentator roared. Four gun shots rung into the arena causing Naruto to jump up.

"Did they get him? Did they get him?" Naruto shrieked.

"No, looks like he managed to dodge all of them," Shikamaru observed. 4931 was more unfortunate. One bullet was lodged into the side of his arm and the another tore off the flesh of his arm.

"How can they do that! That's so inhumane!"

"Shh! Listen."

4931 seemed to be saying something to Sasuke, but it was unaudible from where Naruto and Shikamaru were. Sasuke replied something which caused 4931 to redden with anger. He threw both daggers at Sasuke in such fury that Sasuke was unable to escape from harm this time. A large dagger sank right below his knee causing him to grimace when he pulled it out. It wasn't a relatively deep wound, thankfully, however it caused a loud discussion to rise among the audience.

"Woah, that's the first real wound that Sasuke's got," Shikamaru remarked. They watched as 4931 said something to him, but Sasuke's expression didn't change. After some more conversation between them, Sasuke suddenly lunged forward without any warning and withing seconds had slashed 4931 in the neck. Naruto had never seen anyone die before and it was a horrifying experience. 4931 eyes were wide open as he fell to his knees before finally falling face down into the sand. A gate on the other end of the arena opened and two guards came out with guns loaded and raised. Sasuke threw the daggers up into the air and they spiraled around each other as they fell. He proceeded to go with the guards. Once the two bulky men were next to Sasuke, they pointed their guns back at the ground, but still clutched tightly on to them.

"I guess I should go and… congratulate him," Naruto shrugged as he looked at his shoes.

"Yeah, sure. I think I'll stay, but can you ask him something for me?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sure."

"Ask him what he and 4931 were saying to each other back on the arena."

"You can always ask him if you want."

"I would, but then I would have to walk all the way back down and then wait for some guards and then walk over there and then walk back… it's way too troublesome when you can do it. Just tell me at dinner."

"Yeah, alright," Naruto started heading down the steps. He turned back to look at Shikamaru and found that he was already sleeping and sighed.

He climbed down the bleachers and waited for two free guards that would accompany him back to his jail cell. He was surprised to find that Sasuke wasn't already there waiting for him.

It wasn't until much later in the afternoon when Sasuke entered the room. He looked miserable, his hair was all damp and sticking up where it shouldn't be, and it looked like he hadn't showered in a while.

"Sasuke!" Naruto jumped up to greet him.

Sasuke nodded.

"You look really tired. Where'd you go afterwards?"

"They wanted me to stay and watch the other matches after they bandaged me up…"

"Oh, oh yeah."

Sasuke lay down on top of his matress and closed his eyes.

"Hey Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how you and 49…something were talking?"

"Mmm."

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Just stuff."

"He seemed really angry when he threw those daggers at you."

"Yeah."

"What did you say to him?"

"He told me that he wanted to live and that there were still many things he hadn't done, that he wanted to do. Then he asked me if I wanted to live… And I said yes. I told him I wanted to live because of something way more valuable than why he wants to live."

"That's it?"

"That's all you need to know."

"But you guys talked some more after he missed."

"He said he wasn't going to give up just because he lost his weapons. He said he wasn't a gang leader for nothing. He said he was going to come out of this fight alive. And then when I attacked him, he told me his name."

"That's it?"

"That's all you need to know."

"Sasuke," Naruto whined.

"He told me I had changed since the first time he laid eyes on me. When he first saw me, he said that I wouldn't have cared whether or not I was alive or dead. Life had no meaning to me."

"But that's not true, right?"

"It was… until…"

"Sasuke?"

"I'll tell you some other time, just not now."

Naruto leaned over and knelt beside Sasuke's bed, his blue eyes staring into Sasuke's dark eyes.

"Sasuke? You know I like you…. I like you very much."

"I know."

"Sasuke?"

"What?"

Naruto leaned forward and touched Sasuke's cheeks softly with his hand before planting his lips softly on Sasuke's.

-xWednesdayx-

And that's it. Use your immagination for the rest!

By the way, the whole tournament thing in Alcatraz is NOT true (in reality). It's just something I made up for the story! So please review!


	4. Week 4 Thursday

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…. I think you could have already easily guessed that without having me tell you.

A/N: For the readers who keep saying how its weird that Naruto and Sasuke could develop such a relationship in just three days; it's NOT three days! It more like 3 weeks and 3 days. They've been living together and it's not hard for them to develop a bond… In other words, this chapter takes places on the Thursday of the fourth week that Naruto has started staying at Alcatraz.

Also, I'm sorry it has taken a long time for this chapter to be updated. I actually kind of took a year break where I become obsessed with j-Pop and Dramas. :

Life is good.

I would really like to finish this story no matter how long it takes me, especially since I know exactly how this story will end. Just don't know what goes on between. This is kind of based on a historical event that happened in Alcatraz. If you haven't been there, you should go. They have this really cool tour with earphones and you travel around the cell and look at the cells and pictures and hear what it was like to be in Alcatraz. I made quite a bit of stuff up by the way.

Oh well, enjoy!

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

- Imprisoned -

Week 4

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

-xThursdayx-

Another week had gone by, Naruto thought, as he used the end of a spoon to make a large scratch under his name. He had starting marking down the days on the second day of his arrival. Today would be his 25th day here at Alcatraz. In five more days, it would be a month. It felt so weird knowing that, as if he was counting down to his birthday. And after then, only two more months before he would be freed from this awful place, allowed to go where he chose, when he chose. He sighed contentedly. For a second he forgot where he was and only thought about the future, the perfect, unspoiled future. A small groan brought him back to the time, the dreaded place where he was. He turned around to see the silhouette of his roommate almost roll off his cot, and he felt the harshness of it all fall hard onto his stomach. Sasuke. What about Sasuke? Sasuke would have to stay here for the rest of his life. Naruto was not completely innocent, but Sasuke. He was a completely different story and definitely did not deserve a day in jail at all. Naruto thought back to himself. Could he really leave Alcatraz knowing that that Sasuke was locked up in there, perhaps about to die any day in one of those ridiculous tournaments? Naruto couldn't. He didn't even have to hesitate to answer that question. It was obvious now. Naruto had bonded with Sasuke. Naruto cared about him so much. Under Sasuke's patient teachings, Naruto had grown into a different man. He was no longer a brat afraid of the dark and inpatient to show people who was the boss. He had learned responsibility.

Naruto watched Sasuke sleep; Sasuke's mouth was slightly turned down and his eyebrows slanted towards the middle in a high angle. Sasuke would never be able to rest peacefully here, Naruto thought. He went over to Sasuke and pressed himself tightly against him. It felt so good to hug him, so comforting. If only Naruto could make Sasuke as happy as Sasuke made Naruto happy.

"Sasuke?" Naruto whispered softly.

"Nn," Sasuke reached over to ruffle Naruto softly on the head.

"Thank you."

"Mmmm," Sasuke replied, before settling deeper into the cot.

Naruto wasn't sure if Sasuke had really heard him or if he was just natural instinct, but it brightened Naruto's mood all the same. There had to be a way where Naruto could be free, both from jail and from guilt. Yes, he would just have to somehow free Sasuke, too. Naruto was not the smartest man around, but when he was determined, he could almost find a way to conquer anything. Although no man had made it out of Alcatraz alive (a reason why Alcatraz is famous), Naruto was sure that there was a way. Perhaps trying to take over the jail wasn't the best way to do it, such was how the last attempts of escapade happened. Naruto would just have to try escaping quietly without anyone knowing. But once outside of the fort, there was water. The closest dry land was a mile away. They would drown from the harsh currents or freeze to death from the iciness of the water. They definitely couldn't swim to land and if they did, they would be caught like mouse with traps. He studied the small room. Neither Sasuke nor Naruto were slim enough to fit through the bars, but… the air vents. They could pry off the lid of the air vent and squeeze themselves into the back area. Naruto rolled off the bed and went to the air vents to examine it closer. If they had some sort of metal tool they could easily pry the air vent off. It was old and a little rusty. No one had bothered to replace them for years. After they got the air vents off, they could somehow dig their way out of here, but there were no tools around. Naruto sat down on the cold floor and placed his hands down behind him for support. His left palm hit something that protruded from the floor. His spoon. Naruto stared at the spoon like it was a miracle waiting to happen. His plan would definitely work.

The morning bell rang signaling the time for everyone to start getting up. Breakfast would be in thirty minutes. Sasuke opened his eyes and groaned.

"Sasuke!" Naruto chirped.

Sasuke studied Naruto for a moment as Naruto gave Sasuke a quick good morning peck on the lips. "You're very happy today," he stated.

Naruto just smiled and gave Sasuke a tight hug. "Why shouldn't I be happy? You're alive and healthy. I'm alive and healthy. The sky is blue, the grass is green…"

Sasuke just stared at him, before reaching up and placing a firm hand on Naruto's forehead. "I was right, you have a fever."

Naruto placed his own hand on his forehead and frowned, "Liar! You're just saying that."

Sasuke smiled softly as he got off of his bed. How wonderful it was, waking up to someone who cared about you, someone who wanted to be with him all the time. Sasuke had never experienced this kind of love before. It was different.

Together Sasuke and Naruto made their way to the mess hall. On the way there, they passed the narrow area where many large pipes that all lead up onto the heater. Naruto stopped and stared at this, before grinning widely and muttering, "Perfect." Sasuke didn't say anything, but waited for Naruto to get a hold of himself. As more and more men got out of their cells and headed towards the mess hall, they became part of the large mass of people. During all of breakfast, Naruto didn't say much, thoughts and plans clouded his head. This was unlike him, he usually talked so much that none of the other prisoners that sat around them got around to talking. What was even stranger was how today, Naruto was putting forks and spoons, mostly spoons, under his shirt. After breakfast, Naruto hurried them back into the cell, so he could stick all the utensils into the air vents.

"Naruto, what –?"

"I can't tell you yet," Naruto replied with his eyes shining. What Naruto figured was this, if the plan didn't work as Naruto expected, then there was no point in getting Sasuke's hopes up. First, he had to make sure that the spoons were strong enough to scrape cement off the walls. If they could, Naruto would tell Sasuke his plan. Another thing Naruto had noticed while walking to breakfast was that once they got out of their room via the air vents, they could climb out of the pipes into that room with all the pipes and up the ladders. This was too easy. It was as if all these mechanisms were planted just for this. Then once up on the ceiling, they would climb down onto the boarding dock and… start swimming? That wouldn't work. Naruto would have to refurnish his plans would the details later. The digging would start now.

Sasuke watched Naruto with his eyes raised. Something was up, Sasuke just didn't know what it was. Naruto turned to Sasuke and beckoned him to go over.

"Stand here Sasuke," Naruto said affectionately as he positioned Sasuke in front of him, so that anyone looking in wouldn't see what Naruto was doing.

Taking out the fork, Naruto started scraping away at the mud. This building was over a hundred years old, so it wasn't impossible for him to scrape it bit by bit. However, it was much like taking a tooth and repeatedly scraping clay rock. Eventually, it becomes smaller.

Sasuke turned his head around and watched him for a few moments before muttering loud enough so that only Naruto could hear, "That will never work."

Naruto rolled his eyes and continued his seemingly endless scraping. After standing on his feet, moving his weight every few minutes, Sasuke reached onto one of the shelves and took out the book he had borrowed from the jail library and spread himself out in front of Naruto to read. Silence filled the cell except for the stubborn scratching sounds from the spoon and the occasional sound of Sasuke turning a page. A hour later, Naruto had made a dent about half an inch into the wall and another inch in diameter. Sasuke turned to watch him, "Stupid! You're never going to get anywhere by doing that."

Exasperated, Naruto looked up at him, "You do it then if you're so smart!"

Sasuke smirked, put his book down besides him, and beckoned Naruto to switch places with him and as they passed each other, he pulled Naruto down underneath him and grasped his collar with both hands. They rolled underneath the bunked as a guard passed them who pretended not to notice anything. Their makeout session began as Sasuke nibbled on Naruto's upper lip to Naruto's delight. Their hair became dusty, but it no longer mattered as they became wrapped up in each other, unaware of anything else. They both lay there afterward, in the after glow of lust, panting slightly. Naruto looked to the left of him and admired Sasuke's handsome features and tightened his grip around Sasuke's hand. Sasuke turned to look at him slightly puzzled, but his emotion gave way to a soft, happy smile.

"Come on," he groaned, as he struggled to get out underneath the bed. "I wanted to show you how to get a better head start if you wanted to escape," then a sudden realization came onto him, "Not that you really need do. You're leaving in two months."

Naruto tightened his lips, "I won't leave you here."

Sasuke sighed, Naruto would not change his mind, they both knew that. It was pointless to argue with him at this stage. "At least come out from under there."

Shikamaru happened to walk by at this time and looked at the dust-covered inmates.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto chirped, he scrambled up and quickly dusted himself. "You're smart. You could help us!" During the past week, Naruto had become rather close with Shikamaru. In fact, all three of them were pretty tight now. Although they never found out exactly why Shikamaru ended up in Alcatraz, they discovered he was undeniably smart, probably the genius of the century. However, he was often the butt of jokes because of his laziness and the butt of his cell. He had two roommates, both exceedingly horny and often needing a placed to put their equipment. They both took up to harassing Shikamaru who thought it was too troublesome to fight back. (at that point in time, Naruto had jumped up and made to beat up the two men) "No point," he had said, "There's really no point in anything anymore." Then he had sighed and looked away and up at the tiny patch of sky through the tiny window high on the stone wall. Sasuke reckoned that Shikamaru once had a girlfriend, but Naruto had laughed and said, "What? Shikamaru! Hell, no!" To this, Sasuke hadn't answered, but looked rather forlorn.

"What assistance can I give the two love doves?" Shikamaru answered, sounding rather bored. He opened the door and let himself in.

"You know I should be able to leave in a matter of a month, but you and Sasuke…"

Sasuke stared blankly at the opposing wall, while Shikamaru snorted softly, but allowed Naruto to continue.

"I want to help free you both. I don't believe you two deserve this. I came up with this plan. The utility corridor is right behind us and the air vent leads right into it. We could dig a large enough tunnel by using the air tunnel using spoons. From the pipes, you could leave by climbing onto the roof and if I could get a boat waiting for you both once you got out.. it would be perfect!"

"And what have you been doing so far?" Shikamaru nodded towards the bent spoon by the wall.

"I've been digging," Naruto replied promptly.

"Digging?" Shikamaru asked, "pointless.. It would never work if you went about it like that. The guards would find out eventually. You need someone smart."

"We need you," Naruto breathed, "Is it possible?"

"I'll give it some thinking." Shikamaru stood up and left the cell room and an over-excited Naruto.

"Did you hear that, Sasuke? It could be possible. It just could be!"

"Hmmm," was all Sasuke mused.


	5. Week 5 Friday

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or Alcatraz or Sasuke or Shikamaru.

Warning: Yaoi + Lemon (first time writing this kind of stuff so.. :/ warning x2)

-I guess I took a lot of it from reading yaoi manga, and while brainstorming, (haha) it reminded me a lot like the Under Grand Hotel. Which is pretty much a lot of sex in prison. So warning… bleep bleep bleep.

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

- Imprisoned -

Week 5

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

-xFridayx-

Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto strolled out in the air filled with the smells of the surrounding water. Inmates were exercising, jogging, or just sitting on the benches reading a novel and enjoying the open sky. There were tall walls, probably at least a meter thick, that surrounded them, but from the stairs leading into the courtyard, they could see the sea and past the sea – San Francisco Bay. It was very discouraging to know the barrier between prison and land. There had already been several attempts to escape, most drowning at sea for the geographic barrior had proved to be most deadly. The water was too cold for anyone to swim the miles to shore or even to the closer destination – Angel Island.

And then there were the guards. It was foolish to even think about about overtaking the guards with guns. The most famous attempt, also known as the Battle of Alcatraz, was when three prisoners managed to take over the the cell-house floor and break into the room where Alcatraz kept all the guns. It was pretty well planned; diversions were created. However, the guards were quick to act.

No, their plan would not be violent. The three men stood with their backs against the wall farthest from all the guards.

Shikamaru mumbled, "It has to be brilliant. Something that no one has thought of before. Something that will change the way the jail is guarded."

Sasuke nodded, "So we're looking a flaw, a way of escape that was overlooked when the plans were made."

"Considering we will be having outside help, right Naruto?"

"Right, right," Naruto quickly nodded, "I'd do anything for you guys."

"Because that is the one definite way we will be able to escape from this island without being frozen to death. People have tried swimming their way out, but this San Francisco water is just too cold. We need some sort of boat or ship," Shikamaru paused, introspectively, "no, a boat, something small that will go undetected. You will need to act fast once you get out of jail. We will need two boats. The first will be easier for you to aquire and to row to the island undetected. There will definitely be people on the lookout. Once you pick us up, we will row somewhere upshore from San Francisco, where the second boat is parked. This boat should have an engine, the quieter the better, and hopefully one with fuel that is easy to come by. The boat should have sails and a roof. One of those boat houses would do nice, but.."

"Boat houses? Aren't those rather large?" Naruto squinted, "How am I supposed to find one of those. I'm not rich, you know?"

"Money," Shikamaru murmered, "This is going to take a lot of planning. And a lot of fast action."

Sasuke looked at the ground as he bit his lips softly.

Naruto glanced over and reached his hand out to brush Sasuke's fingertips, before quickly withdrawing from the guard's scanning gaze.

Shikamaru, too deep in his strategy, did not notice, "What kind of boat? There are so many. And honestly, I'm not that familiar with boats."

"Well what kind of boat do you need?" Naruto asked, almost impatiently.

"One with a roof, an efficient way of manuevering around, fast, quiet, something that doesn't completely rely on a power or fuel that needs us to make many stops in civilized areas, but something that is reliable."

"Is that it?"

"A boat with lots of room for us to sleep comfortably, and a way for us to store food."

"That's a lot of requirements," Naruto sighed.

"We're planning to live off this boat," Shikamare gasped exasperately.

"Do we really have to? Can't we live somewhere unpopulated – like an Amazonian jungle."

"Do you think we would be able to survive there?"

"Or just in a town in the South…"

A fellow inmate was strolling over to where the three huddled at the top. It was Kiba, Shikamaru's new roomate. Shikamaru had finally switched rooms and was lucky to have someone who had more control of himself, despite his looks. He was a tall, rather than buff, man with bushy hair that gave him an animalistic character. "We're starting a soccer game and we need a few more players to make even teams."

"I'm in," Sasuke said, grimly. The three looked at him in surprise, he wasn't one to throw himself in games that involved teamwork. Sasuke looked away stubbornly, his eyed seemed to carry a sad edge. _It was as if he had no hope_, Narutho thought.

xXx

Two cells down, it seemed that Orichimaru was having some fun with Kabuto. The panting and moaning muffled by sheets seemed to drive the sex-deprived men nuts. Ghoulish men that were probably in for rape and kidnappings pressed their faces against the bars to watch in the dark. They probably couldn't see that much. They were a hallway apart. But the clanging and groaning and the breathless "Orichimaru"s and cold, soft "Kabuto"s left little to the imagination.

It was obvious that this was one of the days Orichimaru had paid for privacy. Not that being watched by a row of horny prisoners was private. The guard that just walked by had turned a deaf ear and blind eye and would probably not come by for another two hours. Which isn't normal of course, they're hired to keep watch of this sort of thing and break it up when it happens. When money rules the world, however, it is the rich who make the rules, or if not make them; bend them when they feel it is necessary. Orichimaru was one of those rich and wealthy people. He was a pediphile, and only God knows how many surgeries he underwent to change his appearance and lose fifty years. He had been infamous for experimenting on children - doing things that are rarely spoken among the gentle society.

Lying on the stiff mat facing the wall, Naruto tried to come up with a solution to the endless web of problems. It seemed every path he tried to take, every which way he turned, he encountered another hypothetical dilemna. Take a large boat, but it might be much more noticeable and harder to man. Take a smaller boat, not enough food and storage room for supplies they might need. And then if they sailed too far North or too far South, it would become cold; if they stayed near the Equator, too hot. And were they supposed to stay on sea all the time? What about landing? And refreshing their supplies for food? Living in a jungle? They wouldn't blend in with the natives and if questions were asked … – the question is: would questions be asked?

Then the masculine voice whispered just a few feet behind him, "Naruto…" He turned around to see Sasuke sitting up, looking slightly uncomfortable. Behind the smooth planes of his face, deep in his eyes, were the wrinkles of worry, closely tucked away in his heart.

Naruto climbed over and held Sasuke's face in his two hands, feeling the softness of skin and brushed the black hair away from Sasuke's face repeatedly. Sasuke was his. He wouldn't let anyone else take Sasuke away from him. He climbed onto Sasuke's lap with a leg on either side of Sasuke's waist and held him tightly to his heart with the hottest, hardest part of their bodies coming closer and throbbing as it pressed against the striped cloth.

"Naruto," Sasuke whined softly.

Naruto pressed his lips against Sasuke's and let the roaring flames tear him apart. He could feel Sasuke's strong arms wrapped around his back, and he pulled Sasuke's head and lips closer to him. Sasuke was his. He turned Sasuke and pushed him onto the bed and felt the pale skin underneath him shudder as he ran his hands up and down Sasuke's belly to his neck. The shirt was on the floor. He kissed this godly body and draped the blankets over the two of them. His stomach was fluttering wildy and he had never felt such fireworks exploding in his head. It almost hurt.

Sasuke was perfect. He was a dream.

Naruto's hands encircled Sasuke's waist, feeling, touching, groping. He pulled the elastic bands down and massaged the burning passion, not that it needed any more persuading. It was up and standing almost unnaturally. He flipped Sasuke over and pulled down his own pants, then ran his fingers skillfully over Sasuke's ass, giving everything a good fingering.

"Naruto," Sasuke breathed, his body was shaking slightly, his eyes were closed tightly and both hands clutched desparately at the white sheets.

"I don't know," Naruto contemplated to himself, and deciding it would be better to give the hole a good workout before shoving his entire dick him in fear of breaking him. One finger, two, three, he expertly probed his way into the hole. "I can't think of anyone who wouldn't kill to take my place."

Sasuke twitched, but didn't make any other motion to stop him. Then Naruto slammed his entire dick and was surprised to see Sasuke's hole swallow him up. "Crazy. Does it hurt?"

Sasuke winced, "I've taken much worse."

Naruto pulled out only to quickly thrust it in again, "Damnit, so tight." His hand gripped Sasuke's left leg, spreading it out wider and the other was firmly wrapped around Sasuke's dick and felt something sticky shoot out. He smirked, "You should have warned me," and twisted Sasuke's head to get a good luck at the rosy, sweaty face. He crouched over and licked the remainder of the sticky remensces and sucked, his fingers taking place of his dick. Sure enough, enother load went off right into his mouth. He swallowed, savoring the taste of Sasuke's goods.

"This is so embarrassing," Sasuke muttered, one hand over his eyes, the other pressed against the cot. "Turn me back.

Naruto did so as he said and grabbed the arse again before ramming himself in. "I'm going to come inside you."

Sasuke didn't say anything and Naruto took it as an answer of agreement. He let himself go and felt a rush of exhileration run through his body. The fluid spilled inside Sasuke and ran down onto his thighs. Naruto had to bite his lips to keep the sounds of jubilation from throwing themselves out his throat.

He lay down next to the heaving body and burried himself in the man's chest. Sasuke's arms limpily encircled him. Their momentary delirum now passed and was replaced by the sounds of Kabuto's ardor. How long had it been?


	6. Week 6 Saturday

Disclaimer: I do no own Naruto or any of the lovely characters.

Note: Whenever one of those few but persistent reviews that pop up once in a while for this story in my inbox, I read them and wish along with them, that I could finish this story. But years passed and the half-completed draft that I had written more than a year ago, disappearing when my hard drove died, discouraged me from trying to complete this project. But this was a story in which I had a conclusion to the end of the thee months of prison since the beginning. After these three years, after the huge development in Naruto's story, I feel as if these characters no longer match the characters of the current age of Naruto. But with my outline of the remaining chapters complete, I will see to the completion of this story.

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

- Imprisoned -

Week 6

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

-xSaturdayx-

It was noon, and the floor of inmates were sitting elbow to elbow on the long wooden tables of the dining hall. Sounds of clanging and slurping were hidden by the deep rumbles of chatter that emitted throughout the room. Kabuto noticed that the silence of Orichimaru was a sly silence, filled with churnings of a new devious plan in work. He followed Orichimaru's line of sight, and it went straight to the pale face of that black haired boy, gloomy and quiet, who people had stopped trying to bother after his display of morbid sharpness and physical abilities. Yet now his face had attained a certain quiet glow that he hadn't noticed before, an edge of happiness which had lightened the heaviness of the pain that burdened his soul. Kabuto breathed in softly, before, yes, that boy had looked as if there was nothing for him left in the world, no hope and no desire, but now -

"I've never noticed quite how handsome that boy is," Orichimaru chuckled under his breath.

Kabuto looked down on his empty bowl, "Your next target I suppose."

"I've been waiting for him. He's ready, finally after all these years. He will be the one to last," excitement burned through his eyes, "the one that will give me what I need."

Kabuto turned away, a disheartened feeling settled down into his stomach. So this wouldn't be just another one of his experiments, this would be something entirely different. Orichimaru had been watching, _waiting_ for this boy to turn into something.

A bell rung through the noise, and the prisoners slowly arose to their feet. Then moving along their table, they filed out of the hall, stacking away the dirty plates and spoons away, before each turning to his respective way, to his own place of labor. Orichimaru moved majestically along the corridors with Kabuto meekly following him as the second-in-command. Two guards accompanied them out the door to the courtyard. They passed the tall fences where the orange-suited men, dripping with sweat, pounded away at stones, while others carried carts of wood back and forth. Few looked up from work to follow the four men pass and even fewer of those who noticed them, bothered to wonder what was beyond the cobbled steps that lead to a hidden doorway. Those who had their suspicious, the handful that were observant, may have noted that for all the prisoners that went down the path, none were taken willingly and not one was seen again with the exception of Orichimaru and Kabuto.

One of the braver woodworkers may have even openly acknowledged that Orichimaru and Kabuto were no ordinary inmates, if they counted as inmates at all. He had never seen any of the guards bully them or even bother with them. If anything, those guards were merely decorations, actors to play the parts of guards, but were really empty soldiers that walked and never talked. And this woodworker may have wondered why these two people were even in Alcatraz, but he would never have asked anyone but his most trustworthy friend, if he even had such, for another's ears may be the cause of his future through the hidden door. He would have been right, as Orichimaru was here only to satisfy his perverse appetite and Kabuto, being his right-hand man, had followed him.

Three-quarters down the cobbled path, the four of them stopped. Hidden by the entanglement of vines was the vague outline of a door cut into the stone wall. With a strong push, the door opened inwards into a small room which led to several corridors. They all seemed to lead downwards, but there was only one path that led to another door.

Hanging hidden on the other side of the stone door, were a pair of flashlights. Orichimaru and Kabuto each took one before shutting the door firmly closed and locking it behind them. Then Orichimaru headed down one of the corridors and lead the way, without a breath of hesitation at every turn. They went further and further under ground until a metal door secured by several locks greeted them. Orichimaru produced a ring of keys as did Kabuto, and together, the unlocked the heavy door.

A huge, life-sized flask was centered in the middle of the room with liquid dripping down from tube connected to several men who were strapped down to cots. The farthest man lay groaning and Kabuto briskly moved over to him, while the two guards unpacked the bags they carried to produce several bottled filled with strange liquids and begin pouring them through different tubes. Another pack contained bread and cheese and this was set aside for later. Through the doorway at the other side of the room was a hallway lined with locked doors on both sides. The most ominous door lay at the end of the hall, and this was the door that Orichimaru unlocked right after he entered the room.

A man with gray hair looked up and smiled, "I'm glad to see you're back," he said weakly. His bones protruded from his skin; he looked emaciated.

Orichimaru sat down next to the man and stroked the man's face. "Dear child, how are you feeling?"

"Never better," Kimimaro smiled weakly, although inside he was wincing with fear. "I can do this, I can serve you if you would just let me." It was a different sort of fear that most of the other inmates felt when Orichimaru stood before them; it was a fear of abandonment.

"Soon," Orichimaru murmured and leaned in to stroke the man's hair. His eyes glimmered with dark thoughts, but Kimimaro didn't notice.

"I can show you. I'm strong," Kimimaro insisted.

"I know. You won't disappoint me," Orichimaru's thin mouth stretched into a smile and got up to leave as Kabuto entered. As they passed each other through the doorway, Orichimaru's face was a mask. Kabuto was unable to decipher any information and instead, concentrated on trying to improve Kimimaro's hopes. He closed the door behind him.

Kimimaro was coughing. When he was done, Kabuto saw the red of blood glittering on his hands. Kimimaro looked up, "I don't have any more hope, do I?"

Kabuto handed Kimimaro a towel in silence. As Kimimaro wiped the red away, he looked mournfully at the ground and asked, "How long do I have?"

"It's hard to say," Kabuto said solemnly, "at most a month." He paused, "but that will be enough time for you to help Orichimaru. He will need you, within this month."

"That's good, I'm glad." Kimimaro lay back down as Kabuto began the medical procedures. Outside the room, Orichimaru was checking each of patients, or in reality, his experiments. These experiments were once prisoners, taken right out of their cells and plopped to their new underground prison. In actuality, they were still prisoners. Perhaps no longer in the supposedly safe hands of the government, but now in the deceitful hands of Orichimaru. There was no hope for them as they were now only tools in Orichimaru's grasp. Each being had no knowledge of his future except for the lies that were fed to him.

By the time Orichimaru and Kabuto were heading back up the stairs, it was already dark. They had moved Kimimaro to another room and prepared his old room, the largest of the bunch, for a new guest. As quietly as they had left the courtyard, they were taken back to their cells.

Before long, music filled the corridors. Those prisoners who had been allowed their instruments were now given Saturday evenings to play to their heart's content. The night had settled in and the guards lazily stopped to listen to the melodies flowing around them. Naruto was furiously scraping away. Saturday night was the week's peak of productivity. The wall was beginning to give way and the small dent that Sasuke and Shikamaru had laughed at only a few weeks ago had turned into solid inches of empty space into the wall. The cover of the filter hid their spoons and holes as well as a few socks and pillows that they had stolen. _It will takes us a while to hit that pipe, but we'll hit it nonetheless,_ Naruto encouraged himself. His hands had hardened to accommodate the spoons. Blisters had formed between his fingers. He thought of Sasuke's figure covering him and he worked faster.

The music around him danced and whirled, the melodies skipping in the air. It made it easier for him to ignore the cramping and pain as the motions of his hand become mechanic, rhythmically pumping up and down, spoon scraping against the wall. scritch. scritch. scritch. scritch. His mind flowed elsewhere, to the future he allowed himself to bestow upon the two of them, a dream where Sasuke and Naruto could be intertwined as the melody and harmony were intertwined and there were no bars of restraint to hold them back.

At first, he had thought these three months in prison would be a sorry misfortune, a punishment unearned for the silly crime he had committed. Yet now he realized they had turned into a blessing. To be able to discover Sasuke, a man who had seemed so sharp and cold on the outside, but was warm and gentle underneath, only desiring to be someone important, to be wrapped in selfless love and accepted for who he was. If Naruto hadn't arrived at Alcatraz, if Sasuke hadn't met Naruto. These thoughts spun around his head as he imagined what could have happened to Sasuke.

He didn't even notice when Sasuke's light fingers touched his shoulders. "Let's switch now," Sasuke murmured and grasped Naruto's spoons from his hands.

Naruto didn't let go, "No, it's fine. My hands aren't tired," the spoons back down out of Sasuke's grasp. Naruto gave a small smile and took this chance to lean back and peck Sasuke on the cheek. Naruto pouted, "tell me a story instead, Sasuke." Sasuke slid to the floor and sat with his back against Naruto's.

"I'm afraid I don't have that many stories to tell," Sasuke stared gloomily down into his hands, "There haven't really been that many happy moments in my life."

"Something small," Naruto insisted, "a memory that has stayed with you."

"As a child, I always looked up to my brother. He was my idol. There was nothing he couldn't do. That's what I've always thought, and it's true," Sasuke added bitterly, "There really was nothing he couldn't do." He paused, allowing a heavy intake of darkness cloud his breath. "I was always begging him to teach me, but he always put it off. Tapping the middle of my forehead and putting me off with 'Later'. But I'll never forget that time he took me out and gave me a demonstration. I saw firsthand, how skilled he was and how incomparable I was to him. "

"I think... I think you really loved your brother," Naruto reached his hand back and pulled Sasuke's arm down to hold his hand, "And perhaps, you still love him despite everything he's done. It's the unbreakable bond of family after all."

"But you've never had a family."

"They're out there somewhere. Not in this world, perhaps, but in the next. I'll meet them again and when I meet them, we will share a bond that only we can understand."

"So I will reunite with my parents, too. And my brother," Sasuke gave a cynical chuckle, "What will happen when my parents and my brother meet again? What kind of bond will they share?"

Naruto didn't have an answer and before he could come up with a reply, a cry of "Lights out!" down the corridor was heard. As the varying instruments came to alternating stops, Naruto scrambled to tuck the spoons into the vent before replacing the bars clumsily over the hole. The two men were safely tucked into bed when the beam of light darted into their room before disappearing off to check on the next inmate next door.

All was quiet in their room, both thinking about what had been said and what it had meant. Just when Naruto was sure Sasuke had fallen asleep, Sasuke whispered softly, " I never thought that there would be any one else who could understand my loneliness. But one day when I looked into your eyes, I realized that we're more alike deep down than I could have imagined. You understand at least a part of the pain that I have gone through."

"We're not alone, Sasuke. There are people who are willing to fight for our happiness. There are people who are on our side. You just have to find them."

"I guess I'm starting to see that," Sasuke closed his eyes tightly, "I'm changing. So much that I can see it myself. All I used to think about was survival and revenge, but now instead of revenge, I see friendship and love. It's hard to imagine isn't it, a person can change so much."

"No, you were always this person. It's just that certain events occurred that triggered this new attitude, but now you're rediscovering your true self."

"Is that so," Sasuke pondered, "I suppose I like this true self more, I feel much more content."


	7. Week 7 Sunday

Disclaimer: I do no own Naruto or any of the lovely characters. Also, I have no idea what hospitals at Alcatraz look like or how many stitches it requires for different injuries.

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

- Imprisoned -

Week 7

xIxMxPxRxIxSxOxNxExDx

-xSundayx-

The sound of keys jingling and a padlock turning. A guard that Naruto didn't recognized slid open the door. At this time of the night, Naruto knew that this could be nothing good. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, this had never happened to him before in all the years that he had been here. The guard seemed unnatural, out of place. His sunken eyes carried with them a hollow shadow as his hand rose, zombie-like, to point at Sasuke. "You are to come with me, orders from above," he croaked.

"What for?" Sasuke stared, "I haven't done anything wrong."

"Orders," the guard's hand stayed stiff, his finger piercingly straight.

Sasuke didn't budge, and Naruto stood up, "We'd like to know why, just the same."

The guard turned his head and seemed to notice Naruto for the first time. "It's, " he paused, "for the tournament. He wants to make it more entertaining for the spectators." Naruto's throat went dry. This might have been an execution seeing what the tournaments stood for.

"The tournament isn't until Tuesday," Sasuke croaked, "It's always on Tuesday."

"We need time to make preparations." When it became clear that Sasuke wasn't going to move. The guard strode over in one step, a step that most men would not be able take in one stride and had Sasuke cuffed and blindfolded.

Sasuke yelled, "You can't do this to me." And found cloth stuffed into his mouth in return. Naruto had leaped onto the man and tried to break the man's grip away, but was brutally flung to the side and his head hit the wall with a sickening crunch. Sasuke turned to the sound, his blood draining and a muffled cry escaped. But the guard had already dragged Sasuke out and slid the gate shut with the resounding of the lock click back into place.

Within a few minutes, the guard had half dragged, half carried Sasuke outside, the cold wind whipping his hair and stinging his cheeks. And then they had entered a moldy room and were heading down. He felt himself being strapped down a bed, and the footsteps of the mysterious guard slowly retreating. A door shut nearby and Sasuke knew he was alone.

Naruto woke up several hours later in the hospital. His head was bound with cloth and he felt light and dizzy. He struggled to order the events in his head. Sasuke, his heart ached, where did he go. He saw a white figure, hazily coming into focus and then out. Mustering his energy, he managed a groan and the white figure came closer. Naruto tried to sit up, but found a gentle pressure down on his shoulders.

"No, it's better if you don't move, got to rest that head. Don't want to stress yourself. Lucky you're still alive. Head wasn't hurt in too serious of a place although it was a rather large injury. You needed 4 stitches," the nurse said. "Dangerous man, though, your roommate. They took him away after they saw what he had done to you. Rest assured. Don't think he'll be bothering you anymore."

Naruto choked, "When did I come in? How long have I been here?"

"This morning, at," the nurse flipped through the pages on her clipboard, "2. It's already noon now. You're really lucky that one of the guards noticed what happened to you. Otherwise, you might have bled to death."

Lucky, thought Naruto, how am I lucky when Sasuke was taken away from me? What are they going to do to him now the prison is accusing him of attacking me.

The nurse took in Naruto's troubled look and quickly said in what he thought was a reassuring manner, "But don't worry. You're schedule to be out in approximately a week." Checking his click board, he added, "And look, you're already half way done with your sentence. Less than two months left."

"The tournament, " Naruto whispered, it would be in two days. What if Sasuke... but he didn't want to think of the horrible possibility of the outcome on Tuesday. "If there's a tournament this week, I'll miss the tournament," he mumbled.

The nurse raised his eyebrows, "Didn't think you would be the type to be interested in the tournaments. Don't worry if there is a tournament this week, it won't be the last. "He whistled and walked through the room to check on the other patients.

"But this time," Naruto mouthed to himself, "this time my friend is in danger," and he fell back asleep.

Sasuke didn't know how long he had been in that room, tied down to the cot. He had somehow fallen asleep, half sleeps that lasted in short bursts before he was wide awake again, nervously wandering what would await him. And then he would think back to the sick crunch he had heard, he prayed it wasn't Naruto, please don't let it have been Naruto. But there was nothing he could do, but wait.

He was in one of his sleepy moments when he heard the handle turn and the door opened and closed. Two pairs of shoes, stepping softly were coming toward him. Then without warning, his blindfold was ripped off. And before him was his neighboring inmates, Orichimaru and Kabuto.

"Our friend was delivered on time," Orichimaru said delightedly, and reached over to run his fingers through Sasuke's hair, who shuddered at the cold and inhuman touch. Kabuto didn't say anything, but smiled in a manner that must be intended as comforting. "Welcome, child, to your new home. We'll be taking care of you from now on."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "What do you want from me?" and discovered that he was free to speak.

"Many things," Orichimaru's thin lips widened, "I'm expecting great things from you, Sasuke. After all, you're a prodigy."

Sasuke's stomach turned; he felt sick, but he continued staring down into Orichimaru's eyes as if he were trying to draw out the truth from the despair.

"I'll give you the power to become even stronger, stronger than you ever imagined. Strong enough to do the things you have always wanted to do," it seemed as if Orichimaru's eyes were boring down into Sasuke's soul, "And you'll be here not because you're bound to that table, but because you yourself feel the need to be here."

"And what do you get out of this?" Sasuke seethed.

"Nothing, really," Orichimaru said innocently, "Just the pleasure of seeing a young person's potential being reached." He pursed his lips and added, "With a bonus of a body," as if it were only an afterthought with wicked intention.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto awoke once more, this time it was dark. He sat up in bed, only to lie back down to prevent the further throbbing in his head. Even so, he turned his head from left to right to take in his surroundings. The bed to the left of him was empty, but to the right was a figure patched with white. Between the strips of bandage, eyes opened and took in his blonde peer.

"The doctors had such a fright this morning when you came in; the noise woke everyone up. They don't want visitors like you dying."

"Visitors," Naruto scoffed, "I'm as much of a prisoner as you are."

"No you're not," the man said lightly, but with strong conviction, "You will never understand what most of us have to go through."

"If you're talking about the tournaments," Naruto began.

"I'm talking about more than the tournaments. I'm talking about the big picture."

Silence ensued between them. _It's bitterness,_ Naruto thought, _he's jealous because I'm not staying here forever. I'll be out soon. I have something to look forward to, while there life has become meaningless._

"I'm Naruto, what's your name?"

"Kazu."

"How'd you end up here?"

"The Dragons have been onto me for a while."

"The Dragons?"

"Of course you wouldn't know. You're always with that Sasuke guy and the Dragons won't touch him. They like to go for easy targets, but you're not with Sasuke any more, so who knows what could happen. Did he really smash your skull into the wall?" Kazu's bandages moved in what Naruto could barely make out as a smile. "I guess he's down for good now, too."

"What are you talking about? A guard attacked both of us last night and took Sasuke away."

"That doesn't sound good," Kazu rolled so that his back faced Naruto.

"Do you maybe know anything about where he could have went? This isn't normal here, is it?"

"How do I know," Kazu hissed angrily, "Alcatraz is messed up. Corrupt. And I'm stuck here and there's nothing I can do about it."

Silence struck once more, allowing Naruto to ponder over what happened.

"The Dragons" he said carefully, "They really screw with people."

"You have no idea." In Kazu's words, Naruto heard the torrent of emotions rolling through the air, the intense hatred and humiliation that Kazu had suffered at the hand of villains with no faces. "I can't return to life, even if I were freed, but I can't stay here, either." Tears were streaming down his face, "I want out."

Naruto's throat swelled up as he tried to swallow the lump that was forming. "The guard that took Sasuke away, he wasn't normal. I've never seen him before. He was like something dead."

"I've heard rumors," Kazu mumbled.

"Rumors?"

"Of another prison, an underground prison on this island. It's reserved for special people for special purposes, but" Kazu turned back to stare at Naruto and his voice dropped an octave lower, "it's not government owned." His voice returned normal and his eyes dropped up to the ceiling, "At least that's what I've heard."

"Well, if it's not the government, then who is it?"

"Don't ask me," and that was the end of the conservation. Anything else Naruto asked him was responded with a display of pretense sleep.

He propped himself up once more and a different nurse from earlier that day appeared at his side, "How are you feeling?"

"Do you have any painkillers I can take?"

"The best medicine is sleep."

"I've been sleeping all day, I just want something to get rid of my headache."

The nurse frowned, "I'll be right back." He left the room and Naruto, getting impatient, gingerly lifted himself out of his bed. There were five other patients in the room. All of them seemed to be sleeping; it was hard to tell under the dim light. The man who lay in the bed across the room had both arms in casts. He reached the door and found it locked.

"Well, they wouldn't want injured folks running around stirring up trouble, ya see," a grouchy voice arose. Naruto twisted around to find the speaker, but it was impossible to distinguish the voice when he could only see five bundles on their cots.

"You're looking for trouble, you are." This time Naruto was able to pinpoint the speaker to the man on his right, closest to him.

"I'm not looking for trouble," Naruto whispered back.

"Talking boldly about underground prisons? Yes, you are," he muttered back. Naruto walked to the side of his bed. An older man, who hair had turned completely white, and seemed to be in the hospital for no other reason than being old occupied the space.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm a sick, old man. Or haven't you guessed?"

"You're sick?"

"I'm dying."

Naruto peered closer at the man, whose breath was short, and face was pale.

"I'm dying, and I can't even be with my family. Just dying with some other folks who have nothing on me. Been in this prison for forty years now and plus some."

"What are you dying of?"

"Of this."

"This?"

"I'm sick of this," the man reached up to grab Naruto's hand. It was withered and dry, "I have nothing left in this life. I'll stay here to life. And this is what anyone would become eventually. "

"I thought prisoners generally died in prison."

"Yes, how cruel. I'm contagious," he cackled. And Naruto stepped back quickly. "Yes, stay away. If you know what is good for you. I've been tampered with." He revealed his arm to show dark blue patches. "I've been a number, I've been a toy, and I have fulfilled God's purpose for me." He giggled, "I'm harmless." His eyes rolled and his breathing quickened. Naruto wondered if he was mentally stable and if that was the reason in which he was placed in the hospital.

Naruto was about to leave him, when he felt the pruney hand tighten around his arm, "this underground prison you are looking for," a ghostly whisper, "it's no story. I've been there." Straining his ears to hear, Naruto leaned forward, "Only it's no prison, it's a crazy man's... experiments... like a snake." The hand dropped.

Naruto stood waiting for the man to continue, but the man just stared back emptily. Suddenly, with a click, the door opened and the nurse stepped back in. His eyes quickly found Naruto astray from bed and stepped back as if in preparation of attack.

"No! It's this man. He was rambling on and then he stopped. I just wanted to check if he's okay," Naruto splattered out, his face had a disarming look of concern, so the nurse took a tentative step forward, before finally deciding that Naruto was harmless.

Naruto quickly stepped aside as the nurse came forward and checked his pulse. "I didn't do anything to him, I swear," Naruto continued hurriedly.

"He's dead," the nurse sighed.

"It wasn't me!"

"Don't worry, this man was about to die anyway. We've been expecting it. His health has been declining at an immense rate," the nurse looked up at Naruto, "get back to bed. Lights out two hours ago. Ah, I have your medicine here." He held out a white capsule.

"Is this the pain reliever I asked for?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"Yes," the nurse replied, somewhat annoyed, "and it'll also help you fall asleep."

"Oh, okay." He moved slowly back to his bed, and then turned back. "Actually, can I use the restroom? I haven't gone in almost a day, and I don't want to wet the bed when I'm knocked out."

The nurse unlocked a cabinet and took out a clipboard. After flipping through a few pages, he sighed, "I suppose so, it seems as you've been asleep for pretty much the entire day." He locked the clipboard back into the cabinet, "Come with me, then. Oh, wait. I need to clean up the body first. Wait in your bed, I'll come get you in a few minutes. If I find you with another dead body, you won't be getting away with it this time."

Naruto sat down and leaned his head against the wall. He could see the dim shadows of the nurse rolling the cot along and out the door. The clicking of the lock resounded, bouncing across the room as a reminder that even the sick and the injured were really just as imprisoned as the rest. Now one of the sick had just died, right in front of Naruto's eyes. It was so quick, so sudden, so unexpected. He didn't know what to think, so he just sat there, numb to the world, but not the persistent piercings in his head. _Sasuke, sasuke, why is this happening?_ His eyes closed in agony.

It felt like hours had passed before the door reopened and the nurse strode over to him, "Why don't you take the medicine now. It'll help with the pain. It doesn't kick in until probably fifteen to twenty minutes after you take it. That's plenty of time for you to use the restroom."

Naruto groaned in reply, but held out his palm. The pill was placed in his hand and he swallowed it before standing back up to his feet. The nurse helped him out of the room and next door to a small room with a toilet and a faucet. He stumbled over to relieve himself. Then, while washing his hands, he turned and asked the nurse, "What kind of disease did that man have?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to say. We have to protect the patients, you understand."

"Oh, right. It's just that he told me that he was really contagious."

"Don't worry, it's not contagious at all."

"But how can a disease not be contagious?" Naruto answered, as stupidly as he could.

The nurse looked over at him and decided to explain,"It's his own body attacking something foreign in his blood stream. He would have had to injected into your blood several liters of his own blood in order for there to be any effect on you. I think you're pretty safe."

"But then, why couldn't you save him?" Naruto said, his eyes were becoming heavy, the grogginess in his head was overcoming the pain. Naruto collapsed, taken over by sleep, but the nurse caught him and carried him back to his bed.

"We tried, but it just wasn't something we've ever seen before," the nurse whispered sadly,"Nothing we tried worked."


End file.
